Good News – Sammy Off To Middlesbrough

The news was broadcast yesterday that Middlesbrough were keen to take young Sammy Ameobi on loan for the rest of the season, and Newcastle have now confirmed that Middlesbrough have signed Sammy Ameobi on loan.

Sammy Ameobi – in England U21 colors
The England Under-21 international made 14 appearances for Newcastle this season, and the 20 year-old will now get much needed first team experience at Middlesbrough, which is not too far away from Newcastle.

But Sammy will not be able to play in Wednesday’s FA Cup tie against Chelsea (unfortunately) – because he is cup-tied with Newcastle, having played in the disaster at Brighton last month, but he could make his debut at home to Championship leaders Cardiff City on Saturday – so this is a good standard of football for Sammy to be playing through the end of the season.

This is what Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray had to say about the Newcastle youngster:

“He gives us a different option and more options in an a similar way to Muzzy Carayol.” “He’s an out-and-out attacking wide player who can operate on either side and will be ideal when we want to play with two wingers. He will hopefully give some players a lift and create some competition.”

It’s good that some of our youngsters are out on loan getting much needed playing time, and he joins the likes of Curtis Good (9 appearances) at Bradford City, who played yesterday in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley, but Swansea won that 5-0.

Brad Inman (16 appearances – 6 goals) will also be playing shortly at Wembley in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final when the side he is out on loan with – Crewe Alexandra take on Southend United.

Other Newcastle players out on loan include Paul Dummett (23 appearances) and Conor Newton (7 appearances) at St. Mirren, and Mehdi Abeid (3 appearances) at St. Johnstone.

It’s all part of their football education and we should see young Shane Ferguson go out on loan soon too.

156 responses so far ↓

Good, hope he stays away. I was horrified by his behavior in the Brighton game, and frankly I don’t want to see him near a toon top again. Diving round like he’d been shot playing for free kicks and pens. I hate that aspect of the game.

Good news. These players will only develop if given a good run of about ten games. When I look at him and Fergie they are both at about the same level as 2 years ago. It would be nice to see Boro back in the top flight too.

Outsidethebox. I like that team but Taylor would be ahead if colo for me Taylor and mbiwa are our best 2 centre backs and as i think they will be our main partnership with colo probably off to Argentina next season I would rather see that now but barring injuries he will stick for now with colo and Taylor

I think at this time now Taylor is playing quite well and he knows we are going to be looking at a goal scoring centre back this summer. Pardew has said he wants a cb that can help with 6-8 goals a season, I dont think Maps is that cb. Only fault I have with Taylor is he should get more goals and this is a problem at set plays. Imo

Its a shame that there is no option for boro to buy at the end of the loan. terrible player who only has a contract because of his brother, it was a disgrace and massive kick in the teeth to the other youth players when he was signed.

@13, I wouldn’t go that far. Sammy obviously has talent, and whilst I see him as a decent player, with potential, I don’t think I will ever see him as a Prem class player. You can never tell when theyr’e that young, however, spending an entire game falling over like that is unforgivable. I’ve seen players do that once or twice during a game and given them the benefit of the doubt that it was genuine, however, I haven’t seen a player do it for the duration of a match before Brighton. I think the ref should have sent him off for simulation.

Sammy just needs some consistent 1st team action in an English side. We’ve seen flashes of his abilities in the group stages of the Europa League but in the EPL and F.A. Cup he just seems hesitant and almost scared.

He should put a little bit of size on, one thing I don’t like is how he tends to trot around lackadaisically like his brother.

@Bambams Pardew will be hard pushed to find a midfielder that can score 6-8 goals a season never mind a CB. Steven Taylor is known to score more than a few goals. I think he scored in three consecutive games a while back. We’ll only bring in a defender if Colo leaves. Having 4 class defenders is just too much for NUFC

Good news on Sammy tho – even if we dont want him back he has the opportunity to put himself in the shop window, get a decent club and we get a bit of cash – better than rotting in the reserves where we’ll end up getting nowt

I have never seen a youngster who is so lazy god knows what he will be like when he’s older. However he is talented him fergie and bigi will someday make it first team, Dummett Abeid and Campbell possibly the rest are not good enough.

I think Sammy does have some talent, also one or two tricks up his sleeve. He certainly has some decent dribbling ability. However, his “switch” to get into top gear/speed seems to be stuck on slow. He needs a rocket somewhere!
Going to Boro -should hopefully sort out his “attitude” and it may dawn upon him that he has probably been pampered at Newcastle. So great idea -lets see if he improves – if not -taxi time.
As for Obertan – I think his chances of greater things have probably been exhausted, especially after the influx of new players. He has had the chances but this process cannot last year after year. Taxi time for him in the summer probably.

@G
apart from his obvious lack of quality which has been apparent from the moment he signed, i am referring to how he was signed.
he was at the training ground visiting his brother, the youth team was a player short, he played to make up the numbers and after the kick about they sat down and signed him there and then on the strength of that kick about! no body can tell the quality of a player from a kick about on a training field.
I am the same age as shola, he should have been playing against me when I was in school but he didnt because he was on newcastle’s books which is fair enough as newcastle would have wanted to protect their investment as all top clubs do with their youth players, sammy didnt even play for his school team and he wasnt on newcastle books at that point, i honestly cant think of another player who has never played at any level being signed by a top club over the age of 11 or so.

The thing is a goalscoring Centre back is only useful if you’re decent at set plays, erm yeah good luck with that! Why do i imagine that by “goal scoring centre back” pards actually means “someone taller than williamson to hoof the ball to at the back post”?

@21, fair comments. Lomana LuaLua was a gymnast who had never kicked a ball in his youth, started when his family came over here, then 2 years later got signed up by Colechester (I think?) as a pro. I’m not saying it’s right, but it does happen mate.

Doesn’t matter how sammy got signed, hes obviously got some talent and has flashes of it! Not sure he’ll ever be premier league quality, he needs games to improve match decisions and i guarentee if he doesnt make it in the premier league he’ll be a good championship player! Personally feel hes a bit slow and gangly for a winger, would be better off as a centre forward! Heard from people at the club that he trains hard and has a great attitude , cant hate on thr guy when we have players like nile ranger! Hope his loan spell goes well as id love him to be good enough for us

Its quite simply far too early in sammy’s development to have such damming judgements of him. Everyone played sh*te against brighton, and for the first half of the season. On this logic, none of our players should pull on the shirt again!

That might be a soft reason to give him a contract but I imagine they were impressed by his ability in that once session they signed him.

That won’t have been to a long term contract and they fact they kept him on, gave him a pro contract and also having 2 under 21 England caps shows there is something there…even if its just youth level talent he has something.

This loan will be a good chance for him to show it on the senior stage, he needs this and probably another year out there to develop…like ince did after leaving liverpool. Sammy might not be as good but he has potential.

rainrix, no, i object to sammy because he is an awful player, bigi on the other hand forced his way into getting coventry to give him a trial, as the story goes he stood out side the training ground asking for a game, god knows for how long, this shows initiative and determination. coventry wouldnt have signed him immediately there would have been further trials etc after the trial to prove his quality or lack of it as the case may have been.
sammys stock only rose because daft toon fans started singing his name at matches and for no other reason.
his positional sense and tactical nous is shocking. the lad is 20 and im sorry but if you dont know the basics of the game by 20 years old the chances are that you never will. most players have been playing this game for 14 years by age 20. he’s is around a decade behind, although he might come good at 30-34 just in time for retirement……

@27, it wan’t playing ‘sh*te’ that gives me damning judgements of him. It was his constant attemtpts to cheat and get other players sent off which gives me damning judgements. Like I say, i don’t like it, I’ve never liked it, and I’m not going to start liking it. After all, this isn’t Italy.

Bigi was given a trial, not good enough then called back as he ran away quickly…he was selected for pace no ability, he was taught what he knows.

Sammy may have started late but he has been hindered by limited first team chances (rightly so, better players) and the fact our academy isn’t great at producing players. A good loan at a championship team will be the acid test. He will sink or swim and we will find out if he can step it up.

It’s difficult going from reserve to first team in the prem league….a good season or 2 in the championship will help……in my opinion thats what made Andy Carroll the player he is. A full season against lower level players makes the transition into the first team easier.

G, I agree. I don’t like cheating either, and he needs to get it out of his game, but I don’t see why he shouldn’t be given a chance. He had a couple of good sub appearences last season, and scored a pretty tidy goal, too. This year, along with other youngsters, he has been chucked in at the deep end. Suarez is a diver, I hate him with a passion, but I wouldn’t mind his goals on our total instead of liverpools.

brian… Sammys played for england under 21s and i imagine they’re at a bit of a better level than congos under 18s.

Thing is i get not liking sammy as he can be an incredibly frustrating and annoying player but i don’t see how he got signed is relevant to his talents. Tomi ameobi played for us and i imagine he did get in on the weight of shola playing for us, and he was promptly released for not being good enough. I doubt the management would let sammy get this far if they though he wasn’t good enough. or maybe shola holds more sway than we actually know

i have a feeling that he has only ever been a 5-a-side player before signing for newcastle due to his ability to dribble and turn and lack of anything else i.e. heading, tackling, passing, tracking players, knowing how to make runs off the ball and a whole host of other basic skills which he is missing.

i am not saying that you can not teach an old dog new tricks, just not this one.

Either way i think you may be being a bit harsh on the lad. Maybe he’ll make it maybe not but he has shown flashes of talent, we wouldn’t be in the europa league now if it wasn’t for his assist against brugge

rainrix – he needs to prove that he is worth the investment and he needs to do it soon, as far as I can tell he wont but he may be lucky and forge a career at a footballing hotbed such a shrewsbury or colchester.

Sammi has ability for sure, is technically good and has pretty good pace, has looked pretty good in bits and pieces, however he has looked seriously unfit this year, needs a rocket up his arse and needs to put some hard work in or else he simply has no future at the club.

He has obviously seen his older brother swan around overweight and half fit most of his career and probably thinks thats fine. Its not, its shit and he needs to apply himself properly, personally think he has something and could blossom into a real good player.

Disappointed Simpson has sneaked back into the picture when he is clearly leaving, it would have been an ideal opportunity to play Tavernier in a much stronger team and seen how he got on, dont see the point in offering these lads 3/4 year deals and then just binning them into the stiffs. Simpson is on his way out of the club and should be forgot about for me.

Him Ferguson and Ranger need to go out on loan possibly Tavernier to the Championship as the ship may have sailed for them as Premier league players

But if they impress in the championship we may get a fee which will cover their development costs saying that are Sammi and Ranger not on good contracts that Hughton authorized?!?

Just think when you see players like lukaku at 19 who are miles better than our youngsters in every way

But its because we dont send them out on loan early enough they should be away in the lower leagues from 18 onwards

Ferguson when he came in at left back at the tail end of our promotion season was fantastic then he got injured and its sort of stunted his development Sammy as well

Vuckic god he could be great player similar in style to Van Persie the way he can roll the ball with great touch will we ever see the best of him?!?Van Persie was a sick note right up till he was 27 so it might be worth keeping him for another few years

@check
He started up as a manager in 98 for Reading. Was runner up in play off final in 2001, automatic promotion in 2003.
They got 4th in Championship, but lost out to Wolves.
He quit Reading, joined West Ham. Got a play off final defeat in his first season.
Then managed play off again, but won and gained promotion.
Guided the team to 9th in his first PL season. Also got to FA Cup final, but lost to Arsenal on penalties.
Next season they were in poor form at the start and he got the sack. (Second season syndrome?)
Then over to Charlton, they were 19th on 12 points when he took over, didn’t manage to keep em up.
Didn’t manage automatic promotion. Next season he parted company with Charlton.
Then Southampton, their bid for promotion slipped in the last two league games, but they started the season with a 10 point deduction. He led Southampton to 2010 Football League Trophy Final, where they won their first trophy in 38 years.
Pardew was dismissed after a reported spat with his chairman.

You remember last season, so no need to mention that.
Poor form in the first half of this season, plenty of reasons for that, but we’re in the last 16 of the EL now and in the league we’re on the up.

Sammy going out on loan is good news. Not going to feature for us this season and will give him and the club a chance to assess where he is actually at. It’s a win win.

Dannyo…Have tried this before and whilst a good effort, I think you may be wasting your time. I look at his record and feel that he has been harshly treated at almost every job he’s been in for one reason or another and never really given the chance to turn things around or really make a team his.

I’m not saying he is wonderful, but he is decent enough and I’m pleased Ashley is giving him the time to show what he really can do. All managers will have a blip and it can be argued that the blip this season has been fairly severe, however, as soon as he’s got what he asked for in the summer things have turned around, that would indicate he does know a thing or two.

There of course is the argument that he should have been able to do better than he did even with the various circumstances of this season and whilst I wont say it’s been a good season, i will throw out some perspective

Swansea who are deemed to have had a wonderful PL campaign (forgetting their recent cup success for a minute) and they are only 7 points ahead of us. That’s 2 wins and a draw…3 games. Which equates to approx 10% of PL games played this season. 10%?!? Is that what makes or breaks a manager really?

Anyway, the pardew out calls have somewhat been put on hold and hopefully Pardew can do a good job at the club. With the right choices between him and the board i think the club is on the up, but we have to be prepared for the occasional curve ball…it is football after all.

@Ibiza
I can’t say if he’s going to have success here, or give it to us for that matter.
But I feel the same as you. It seems to me that he’s a victim of general circumstance.
You can be as successful as you want with a club, but if you get stuck in the rut, you’ll get fired 80% of the time.

MA has stuck by him and helped him this window. Carr said to DL and MA that you’ll never see a season like this in terms of injuries. And he knows what he says, so I’ll take Carr’s word for it.
There are also other circumstances to throw in there.
But could AP have done better? Probably, to an extent.

Imo, he’s still learning, this is the biggest club he’s been at. But the players being brought in, you have to say there are better things still to come.

I dunno why I bring all this up, lol, I just felt like reading up on Alan, cause I haven’t really. Just gone with the “flow” of things.

Santonthenewmaldini( pause for breath). — Your rewriting history on Shane Ferguson. He did not appear in our Championship winning season 2009-2010 at all. We had Van Aanholt on loan from Chelsea towards the end of the season you mentioned.
Beefman — I sometimes wonder if your Shane Ferguson’s agent !
His best season in terms of appearances was 2010-2011 when he had 5 starts. Injuries have not helped. You keep mentioning about Pardew not giving the kids a chance. Ferguson is hardly a kid . Did you notice Luke shaw playing at left back for Southampton ? Well he’s a kid at 17 and a real talent in the making. We all want our home grown players to come through but we do them a disservice to over inflate their talents. Shane sulked when Santon first joined and took his reserve spot. At 21 he needs a spell on loan playing regular competitive football. Curtis Good at 19 will have benefitted enormously from his time at Bradford City. I favour getting into a position where we acquire young talented players but allow them to continue their development with an existing club. Bigirimana shows the benefit of playing in the Championship . Good luck to Sami.

How many of you believe that we’ll get Remy for a price cut deal in case they get relegated.
Carma is a b***c and what they did to us we’ll do the same to them like we did with Demba Ba when we got him from West Ham.
I’m pretty sure he has some release clause so we can use it and give Arry taste of his own medicine.

Its funny how you can interpret his record however you want. Couldnt get promotion to the 1st division with a team that yesterday outplayed us for long periods, Lambert, Adam Lallana and others were all in Pardews team that got promoted two years running after he left. Reading got promoted after he left and finished 5th in the top league under Coppell, was he getting the best out of his teams at Soton and Reading? History says that both improved as soon as he was given the bullet? Make of that what you want. Good year at West Ham granted, followed by an horrific run.

He now has a squad that is overflowing with superb international footballers, personally thought Soton played nicer football than us yesterday, was well impressed with how they knocked the ball about, clearly given the license to play the ball out from the back and take a few chances, good game and personally believe that the team will continue to win games despite Pardew being in charge rather because of him.

Credit goes to Ashley and Carr for me for somehow acquiring a superbly talented bunch of players. Think Pardew is a good man manager and clearly the players like him, however dont really know on how he wants his teamm to actually play, we just do bits and pieces no real pattern to what we are trying to do.

Dannyo…Having thrown myself in to the pro Pardew brigade some time ago I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t read up on him and his “record” before. Truth is it’s pretty evenly split when it comes to public opinion.

The only time I can agree with the anti brigade (i use that term with no offense meant ) is that there are better managers out there with more experience. But we aren’t going to get one of those so is he really any worse? You could argue give it to a young up and coming manager but that too is a risk.

This is a bigger club than he’s previously been used to and add the EL to the mix then this year was always going to be a challenge. Hopefully we end strongly and can take some momentum in to next season…whatever went down this summer that resulted in such a lacklustre start to the season needs to be avoided. If it was as simple as lack of transfer activity then fine, but I get the feeling the club thought they had made it a bit and took their eye of the prize so to speak. I would imagine everyone will be kept in check this time around. As always, time will tell.

It is clear as club we are not too good at producing good players. We have good youth players and in fact have had many England u17 – 19s in the past who dont make the grade, Ranger, Donaldson, Guy, Gardiner, Beaumont even Chopra although he played England u21.

As Ian suggests we need to aquire players 17 -19 who already have 1st team experience like Bigi. The new lad Mbabu has a first team game under his belt for Servette and he is only 17.

That is the only way we are going to bring players through the development squad.

On your point about those same players Pardew had, well that is true, but they were also younger, less experienced and new to the team, you could argue that Pardew laid the ground work for their current success? Not all of it, but some of the ground work. Truth is no ones knows with any certainty whether Pardew could have got the same results if given the time, no one, it’s just guess work.

We do seem to be lacking of a style, whatever that style is, but that seems to vary depending on the teams confidence, which yes, is a bit odd really. I guess the key is to keep confidence up…simple really.

I was impressed by Southamptons pressure during the game. Never gave up and pressed us for every ball, I suppose some of that may be EL hangover, but that wouldn’t be completely accurate as it is something that is generally missing from our game throughout the season, not just after EL fixtures.

However from what I have seen of pardew is that he is a little slow to adapt and implement change. This has been accelerated recently due to the influx of goo players.

I’d like to say that he seems a manager who needs a bit of time to improve and implement his style on the team.

Seeing as we are improving I think he is safe for this season now and in the summer would like him given 2/3 layers he will need and see what happens in his 3rd full season in charge. He might stay still but he might improve.

He has never had more than 2 years, could be argued that’s his own fault which is fair enough but things are on the up so if like to see him given at least next season to see if this year was a fluke bad year or if the first year was a fluke good year. Either way be good to know and can’t be sure we would even get a better manager so unless a brilliant candidate was available and interested I’d not even think about a change.

With about 100 fulltime pro clubs (including SPL) there’s probably only about 12-15 managers who have ever won anything at all – let alone third level trophies – so the ‘What’s Pardew ever won – Johnstone Paint Trophy ?” brigade used as a knocking tactic fail to realise he has a reasonably promising career without setting the leagues on fire.
I think he has a learning attitude and is pretty self analytical so will realise his own shortcomings and try to improve his own performance.
I’ve heard and seen enough to think he could become a top 4 CL team manager on a regular basis with the right ownership attitude to him. (Wenger Mark2 ?)
I also think that Mashley has this attitude in that he trusts his first lieutenants (I’m much less confident in Llambias) and allows them time and space to develop. He certainly makes mistakes but has shown he will learn from them.
I do feel that he is probably one of the better owners in the EPL and we will win something with the current management team. Our side is just so close to being a CL team. Then we just need a good cup run to get some silverware. Who knows when that might be.
This last month is the first time I have not been incredibly suspicious of Mashley, though I’ve always reckoned APs critics were way over the top – despite his occasional wayward tactical calls.

Even the very very most negative old sods can’t ignore starting the season with a ten point deduction haha.

Crazy.

And good players do not win games without a manager – Mancini and Chelsea have done a very good job of showing that this season – so any talk of the players winning in spite of the manager seems a little far fetched.

Check the Toastie great post. The score flattered us and yet again there was zero atmosphere outsung throughout the match by the Saints fans. People leaving with 10 minutes to go. As for Sami I have watched him in the reserves a number of times he is not fit and will never make it in the Premiership. Brad Inman has scored 14 goals this season from midfield and is another of our Aussie lads having a day out to Wembley ( with Crewe). This lad is quicker than Obertan has a great engine and needs to be involved with our team.

Ashley might have saved himself a few million if he can sign him in the summer.

I think it might be wise to let Santon go to Italy if there’s enough monetary interest. He’s not bad necessarily, just overvalued by others. He does get caught out of position too often more liking.

Say what you will about Danny Simpson on the other wing, but we would have at least gotten a point out of the Tottenham game if he was marking Bale. You could never make that argument about Santon’s marking abilities.

TS…Your last two lines really sums it up for me. Unless we’re changing for someone who has proved to be much better, then why change?

yo-yo…But we demand silverware. We’ve become accustomed to winning regularly and therefore demand more of the same…wait a minute, we’re talking about Newcastle..my bad

Truth is, under Pardew is the cups we have done really badly (with the current exception of the EL) – not that we’ve done really well before. Whilst i’d like a good cup run, since he arrived they have been considered low priority when compared to the league and his team selections have reflected that.

Hopefully next season we’ll see what this club is capable of after the board, management and players ALL do their part, as it does require all members of the club to pull their weight in order to be successful.

Pards is a big piece in the jigsaw regarding player recruitment. I dont think he is the one who draws up the list of top players as i am sure it is G Carr with his extensive knowledge of European football. But Pards has a say in who comes in and watches the top targets.

Then when we aquire a player they need to have confidence in the manager to come as these ‘top’ players must have been courted by other clubs and we are not the ones to pay top dollar for their services. Therefore I would argue our manager has pulling power. That is very important?

AP moreorless said in a interview last year he didn’t have a style other than winning and would set uyop a side to play differently to achieve that. Okay maybe oplayers ,like a system but imo he is setting up our side to play adaptable tactically and it will take longer to achieve that as the players need to learn more roles and gel more closely.

I thin his biggest weakness is sitting back and playing like the old Leeds and Arsenal teams which could sit on a 1 goal lead and win more often than not.
SAF said something interesting the weekend to the effect that the second goal is the crucial one and obviously always sends his sides out to play 95mins and not ease up with a 1 goal lead. When we follow that and our team drives to ensure we look for the two goal cushion every game we’ll do very well indeed.

Thats one Ameobi, gone just Shola,Colocini,Jonas, Simpson,Williamson and Pardew, to follow him out the door and get Laudrup in the guys only been in the job months and won a Trophy unlike Pardew, who has won nothing for his entire career, thats how hopeless Pardew is won nothing as a player or manager!

Sage and Ibiza, enjoyed the game yesterday, have to say there was one passage of play were we pressed Soton high up the pitch and they kept their nerve and knocked it around us and kept possession, it has taken there new manager 4 weeks to put that into place, demands it i imagine.

Was well impressed. gotta say we got a bit lucky as the lad Fox who came on was poor and gave us two goals really.

Pardew for me is a safety first approach type of manager and i personally feel that he will always strangle this teams full potential. Man for Man we should be able to pass and move a lot better, we will continue to win games due to the quality that we now put out on the pitch, however a little unsure how this team and the football will evolve under Pardew.

Just a point stayed over at The Mal sunday night and came back home today, Mo Sissoko was having brekkie when we got their sunday morning, Girls were saying he is a super nice bloke, have truly done the business to get this lad at the Toon, these french lads seem so unassuming and appreciative of the club, Superb.

bollance- Donaldson got loads of young England honours but did not look remotely like a cure PL player. When I first saw Tamas Kadar ( I think as a17 year old) he looked like he had a big future. He featured a fair bit in our Championship season under Hughton but it was. Said that he was a poor trainer. The Swiss youngster you mentioned even talks a good game ! I accept your point about young CB’s having a tough start in the PL. I was disappointed with. Saylor
Yesterday. He struggled throughout . He is as good as any English
ST of his type a real hard working striker the way he positions for headers and flick ons( Ist goal) is class. Lallana is good to watch and he and Pardew are mates. If we don’t get our academy conveyor belt working properly we could use Southampton as a breeding ground. They seem to have cracked it!

Romain Amalfitano! Where’s this lad gone? He needs to go out on loan to as well as Fergie. Romain I expect, like older brother Morgan, will be a late bloomer. The kid definitely has talent but it’s being wasted in the reserves when it could utilised very well in the Championship.

Ferguson, as well, has a future at the club but he needs games. This lad needs to get his muscle up as he could be a great LW as he’s quick, skillful and got a good delivery however he lacks strength. At 21 he’s still got time but it’s passing quickly. He needs to make a bold statement if he gets this loan as for me another winger is needed and as much as I would love Shane to be that LW, I can’t see it at the minute, unless he improves a fair bit.

I’d love to see us go in for Dries Mertens of PSV in the summer. This lad is a talent. Very zippy & tricky with a superb goal tally that some strikers would be envious of. He’s a superb set piece taker and can definitely provide better crosses than Jonas. 25 as well so got plenty of years to go.

I know what you mean. I’m not a fan of pardew being as cautious a he is, I think we are too cautious and don’t alway play to our strengths. We seem to be overly defensive and don’t turn up until we need to, concede or gets late in the game etc.

I think southanptons new manager hasn’t done too much, they haven’t changed that much compared to the last 2 months of Adkins reign.

Hopefully pardew will learn, this is the best squad he has had and he was never part of a ball playing team so he won’t have too much experience of it and I could take time to learn to maximise what he has.

I think he would really benefit from a good European style assistant manager or coach to work with him but that would need to be his decision

Now Southampton are in the prem we will play even more extorsionate rates for their players. Although it is rumoured we were in for an ex player of theirs while he was at Tottenham. I guess it most have been when we got promoted but then Bale (the player of course) came good and the rest is history.

Taylor is under pressure. Mapou is breathing down his neck but i preffer colo out of all three. It seemed like we lacked a leader in the back 4 when he came off.

Check…Can’t argue about there being questions marks as to where he can take us or to what extent we’d evolve as team under his management, but is that good enough reason to issue a man hunt? Maybe a little far fetched, but you get my point I’m sure.

I have always said he’s not spectacular, but also not rubbish as is often made out, for example “Pardew the clueless puppet”. You can’t tell me that is right, just as it isn’t if I claimed pardew to be as good as sir bobby.

Areas to work on for sure, but improvements have been made. The question is will they continue to be, if not then ultimately Pardew will be upgraded, but I’m all for giving someone a chance…surprise surprise!

Great report on Sissoko, seems like all the new lads are happy to be hear and that the club have made them feel extremely welcome, at least that’s one plus

People say we now have character for coming back. Do people not think it is quality that we now have which is the difference?

At times yesterday our passing was so slick Southampton could not get close to us. The passing is definitely getting better and now we have a couple of better outlets in Sissoko and Gouffran when we are forced long. And we did go long a lot via Elliot who took no chances with short passes

Yes -Simpson would have sorted Bale out -no problemo.
Top pundits who know their football probably agree.
Oh Oh …wait a minute.. what is this I’ve just found when we beat Spurs 2-1 last year on 18.8.2012. Well its an extract from the live commentary on the game:-

“Bale knocks the ball past Simpson and again he is tripped. The Tottenham players are asking why that is not a second booking, and they may have a point. surely that is Simpson’s last chance. Anyway, Spurs have a free-kick, which sigurdsson and Younes Kaboul both fancy taking.”

Bollance…I guess confidence is a character trait, so probably could argue it either way. Just nice to see the lads keep their heads up really, far too many times when we went down you could just see in their faces there was no belief to fight back.

Gotta say the crowd was quiet yesterday, these 1.30 sunday kickoffs are no good for people getting into the game, atmosphere was pretty poor, worst for a while bizarrely,its been better while weve been playing shite.

JFA — You make a valid point about where we might now be had Ashley invested earlier. We will never know as to whether we would be competing with Spurs for 4th place and a CL place but certainly a lot closer! It was good to hear Pardew publicly acknowledge the very point in his post match praise of Debuchy. We should have paid more to get him in the summer and recouped in part by selling Simpson. Financial rather than football considerations are not always the best option in the long run. Both buying and selling. Luka Modric being a good example according to Spurs fans.

TS – might have been made out to be a big french day on TV, however people dressed up french were few and far between, even the singing corner in the gallowgate was quiet, bit weird really.

Think Debuchy, Goofy and Sissoko have brought so much to the team. However i have to say that Jonas is a man off, should be replaced, contributes nothing of any real value anymore, concerned that Pardew likes his Opta Index Stats too much and is missing whats staring him right in the face.

Would love to see Ben10, Goofy and Cisse against Stoke, they are a side we could seriously smash, however Jonas wont be dropped, pffftttt

Every time I watch Cabaye I am more impressed. The conductor pulling the strings. His range of passing, link and switch play particularly to Debuchy was instrumental in our victory. Good to see Tiote back to close his best providing energy but in a controlled way. Games are won and lost in midfield. Even when we have to overcome defensive lapses. I would personally like to see Yanga and Coloccini at CB. Taylor needs to work on his positional lapses which against a slick Southhampton caught him out. We’ll need artistry as well as power and pace against those sides at SJP who will come to park the bus. Step up HBA.

Dok- You don’t have to like him but it’s hard not to respect what he has achieved. Those still criticising Pardew are well and truly on the wrong side of the argument. Just observe the sheepishness and lack of
Catchy and any cogent presence. If you take such an entrenched view there is nowhere to go! In my opinion.

Kets is at it again…was wondering what was missing from the blog banter on here today. That was it.

We should have gone in for Scharner, though I think Kets would have a stroke if that happened.

Will be interesting to see if the team’s fluidity will increase with the return of Ben10 or if there will be a bit of a disconnect with Sissoko and him playing very similar roles, since HBA likes drifting inside quite a bit. Like it’s been said on here numerous times, when HBA, Cisse, Sissoko, Gouffran play together, and if they gel, it will be mouth watering. That’s if the gel of course. Won’t work if players try to occupy the same area all the time.

Ian Toon – you’re right about Tiote. When he came back the other week I was a bit annoyed with him sending it long all the time and giving is away but yesterday he had a much better game. Closing down was good and his passing was better.

Have to say it that in the first half I was a little worried about Elliot’s kicking as he struggled to reach the halfway line on several clearances. Second half he looked much better and produced that throw, wow. Cisse was his usual self offside a lot but this time banged in a screamer, I was pleased for him.

Overall pleased with the result, moved away from the drop and nearer to tenth. Southampton are no mugs and find space very well, Swansea next who are quite similar so that’s another test

I don’t think it was just Tiote who held onto the ball to much, it was everyone that was playing. There was no movement off of the ball into space, or at least very little, so the person on the ball had to keep it. Now at least players are starting to come to and show for a pass and not walk and watch what’s going to happen. They still need to work on the movement though. Soton is able to play that slick passing game because of their movement. It’s dangerous when you combine that with their constant pressuring of the ball. Even Messi would have a hard time getting past 4 players closing down on him at the same time.

It was also nice to see santons cross end in a goal and Debuchy winning a penalty, good attacking fullbacks but people need to cover for santon more whilst he is upfield and he also needs to bust a gut to get back as well.

Some of our youngsters or of an age now where it’s make or break, a loan spell will do Sammy the world of good.

bollance- Cabaye is Tiote’s get out of jail card. When we signed Anita I envisaged him playing that role alongside Tiote. I mentioned last night about the re balancing of midfield when HBA is fit. Sissoko should play box to box but HBA could play in a more advanced role behind Cisse. We will need to get the best out of midfield unit. Our pace of play has noticebably stepped up a few gears. Thought. Gouffran was not quite as good as most have suggested. He seemed less influential as game progressed. He’s a starter for me though.
We could do with another natural winger at times to release Gouffy through the middle. That said or switch play has improved beyond expectation. It was no coincidence that there was growing panic in the
Saints defence as the game progressed. Playing against Cabaye when he’s shifting the ball really pulls defenders around. Hope we see a lot more of it . Swansea will be a different sort of test, be interesting. I sense that I am not the only one thinking the season has only just started. Off to get something to eat. Enjoy yourself.

i do like pards, he has emotion and shows it, sometimes a tad bit too much, but nothing wrong with it… now that hes got a full deck, so to speak, lets see how he does… the learning the proper sub at which time will come, now that were really getting healthy, and have a full side… i like to think we may just thrash swansea… iv missed ben10…

IanToon – you’re right on both comments. I’m a big fan of Santon but even I commented how he should be getting back quicker and that was before the ball hit the back of the net. Elliot looked much better in the second half.

Check – atmosphere was very flat yesterday, I think the goal most definitely knocked the stuffing out of the crowd and we didn’t get it back. I think the fans are much better on Saturdays.

And Pardew is not the 2nd coming, he is an average manager but maybe an above average man manager, he needs to put his stamp on the team, what type of team are we? i would say we are getting by on individual brilliance for the most part and commitment and hard work, no real pattern to our play at all.

Santon is a superstar, people giving him pelters need to get a grip. If he is marauding forward one of our two DM need to drop into his position, personally think Anita would be best qualified to do this, no idea why Cheick is now playing in front of cabaye, he has no creativity at all.

Would play Anita with Cabaye even though Cheick played better yesterday.

Ibiza@67– Given that half of the team are relative newcomers it will take time for a pattern of play to evolve. We have not had the benefit of a pre season to work with the squad. That said I fully expect us to have improved immensely by season end. I think it’s a smart move to give players targets beyond just escaping relegation and a run in the Europa. 2-3, top draw buys in the summer and we can realistically anticipate Competing for a CL place.

Hypothetical? Has the boards overly prudent attitude to transfers last close season ultimately given us now a stronger side now than we would have had had they got their preseason targets.

Those 5 new signings, either by luck, good scouting or necessity have radically improved our first team, squad and our prospects.

A top ten finish, a run into the final stages of the Europa coupled with this fine squad we’ve now acquired so cheaply, perhaps means we may well finish the season in better shape than otherwise may have been the case, ironically enough.

if you want to know about Sammy Ameobi’s take on life as a professional footballer suggest you follow him on twitter.

He needs to grow up, be a responsible human being and get his act together, not along with his mate Lifting up a friends car and placing it on its side, then having photographs taken standing underneath it, then posting it on twitter, I know he young, but he does need to sort himself out.

But gouffran was also slow getting back which if u look at his previous games was very un characteristic. I have faith though he will come back up to speed and soon.

Good comments on hba coming back. In the past minus cabaye we have relied on hba carrying the ball from defence to attack almost single handedly. That will now change and we can afford to play him higher up the field. Hba did say in an interview pards understands hba’s best position. Is he going to be unleashed #10?

Personally I would keep sissoko #10 and drop Guti for hba. A very attack minded team which pards probably won’t go for as he likes an out and out winger and a midfield right. But anyway we have lots of options now especially with hba / gouffran and sissoko seemingly able to play various positions

MattNufc – accurate and a very good distance. It got a good reception from the crowd, I was a little shocked at the time.

Hotdog – you’re right someone should have covered but it would have been nice to see him getting back a bit quicker. That was one thing Jose did, undoubtedly he is a very good player though. Players who can beat a man are certainly favourable for me

. Cannot wait to see Ben Arfa, sissoko and gouffran in the team together, I imagine they will swap positions during the game. Anyone watching spurs v west ham? Jaaskaleinen has done a fine job of keepin us in 14th

Looking forward to the Swansea game, they will be a hard team to beat but think we can get a result as we won’t be anyone’s push overs now.
Hope hba starts game with guffy and cisse as a 3.
With dream boat, the beast and title behind, what a team.
Why can’t we win this cup also?

In honor of two dedicated Newcastle fans, who lost their lives supporting Newcastle United, when their passenger jet was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday July 17th, 2014 by rebels, as they were traveling to support the team in New Zealand.

We will never forget them.

Fantasy League

Mark Harding has again set up the Fantasy League for our readers for this season.

The new code is 3641-1656 and people can set up the league here:

http://fantasy.premierleague.com

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Health Update - 4 Feb, 2015

I had another battery of medical tests early last week, and the results show my PSA count as undetectable, which means the prostate cancer is still under control, and there is no trace of cancer in the body.

I'm very pleased about that!

Ed Harrison

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What Is A Football Club?

“What is a club in any case?"

“Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it.

It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes."

“It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city."

“It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.”